Pogo was a popular American comic strip by cartoonist Walt Kelly that ran from 1948 through 1975. The strip varied from slapstick and whimsy to sharp political and social satire and appealed to both kids and adults. Kelly was a masterful artist and he infused both the characters and their world with vivid personalities through his skillful artwork. Kelly began his art career as an artist for Walt Disney Studios and he worked on Pinocchio, Fantasia, and Dumbo before he created Pogo.
The comic strip is named for its titular character Pogo Possum, a kind of everyman who patiently reacts to the crazy characters that also inhabit Okefenokee Swamp located in the American South. The brash and dimwitted Albert Alligator is often Pogo's comic foil and the two form sit at the heart of the strip.
Other characters are often used as avatars for social and political commentary. Howland Owl is a self-proclaimed expert on everything but in actuality is anything but. Churchy LeFemme is a superstitious turtle who seems to be easily duped but always willing to join in with Howland Owl's schemes. Deacon Mushrat is the local religious leader (who "speaks" in Gothic type) who's views seem frozen in tradition. Over the many years the strip ran, the cast of characters grew enormously.
Because the strip is set in Georgia, many of the character's speech reflect the local dialect and Kelly added incorrect grammar, invented words, and many malapropisms to give the characters a unique way of speaking. The language is used to further create a sense of place and is as colorful as the characters and setting.
I really enjoy reading Pogo for its simple fun, amazing artwork, and hilarious characters. It's a lot more dense than the comics you see in the newspaper or on the internet today but it's well worth your time. There have been several attempts at publishing the whole Pogo strip but the most successful collection is from Fantagraphics Books. I don't know how many books it will take to collect the whole series but I'll be buying each one.
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